Fuel Tank Dilemma

I've been noticing an intermittent gasoline smell from the outside of the truck lately. I didn't feel like going through the hassle of tracking down leaks, so I took it to a local mechanic, who told me that the tank itself was leaking, from the very bottom. I haven't seen it myself, so I'm not sure how big the leak is, but it can't be too terribly large, since it doesn't leak noticably fast.

He said that they called all around, and finally found a supplier who could have a used tank shipped in from out of town. He told me that, assuming everything goes smoothly, and they don't have to do any restoration work to the tank itself, it would cost me about $370 total to do the work, and $45 for their time if I take it home to work on it myself. I'm not sure if that's a fair price for this, but it could certainly be much worse.

Since this is a 95, I'm obviously not going to be able to find a new tank anywhere. I checked the inventory of the regional junkyards, and nobody local has any. According to car-part.com, there are some regional junkyards (starting at 2 hours away) that claim to have them within the $50-100 range, although I'm not sure what condition they're in.

I'm also considering patching it myself. If a patch is successful, then I've spent much less money, and probably much less time. If it can be patched without removing the tank, then that's even quicker. But patching it might not work, and even if it does, it's not clear how long it will last. I've heard varying things about patching fuel tanks: Some people swear by it, and others claim it to be a total waste of time. If I do this, I'm leaning towards using Marine-Tex Gray, as it sounds like one of the best options, plus it looks simpler and cheaper than some of the alternatives.

So at this point, it looks like my options are:
1) Pay this shop to do it themselves
Cost: $370+
Time: Negligible
2) Take it home, let it drain, and attempt to patch it (using Marine-Tex, or some preferable alternative).
Cost: $20-60, depending on what I use to patch it with.
Time: It would take a few days to drain it and to let the epoxy cure afterwards. I'm assuming that the active time spent would only be 2-3 hours, and that it could be done by one person?
3) Call around, make a road trip to pick up a tank within the region, and replace it myself.
Cost: $50-100
Time Spent: 2 Saturday afternoons: one to pick up the part, and the other to replace the tank. I'm assuming this would be a 2-man job over the course of an afternoon?

Companies like eastwood and por-15 make gas tank sealer kits that do a great job on the tank if done correctly. Cost is 50-60, but you have to drop the tank to do it. The tank should have a drain plug on it, if not, run the truck until it is almost empty to lighten the tank as much as possible. You could also get a tank from the JY and coat it, then swap tanks - more money, but less downtime and can assess the tank prior to coating it.

If I'm going to go through the trouble of dropping the fuel tank at all, then I'd much rather track down a used tank in good condition, especially if I can pick one up within driving distance.

Right now I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to use one of the patching solutions which can be done without dropping the tank. If I can fix it permanently within a few hours and $20, then that sounds like the obvious choice. The general consensus is that JB Weld doesn't work very well, but I've seen people say good things about Marine-Tex Gray and Permatex.

It seems that it also depends on what the tank is made of. Are these tanks steel or aluminum?

Conversely, if a patch is likely to only be a temporary solution, then I'd probably be better off replacing it entirely.

In general, though, does $370 sound fair for the replacement of a tank? It sounds a bit steep since I see other tanks in the region for $50-100, although I've also seen numbers much higher than that posted elsewhere.

I have a spare gas tank, I bough to replace mine but it was smaller since my truck is macro cab, and this one was a regular cab, let me know if don't find any and are interested,

Also I used permatex, to attach the baffle since no shop in town was willing to weld it back, so far so good.

Tank is held on with 4 bolts, then there are a few hoses and the electrical connections. the tough part is removing the pump and sending units from the old tank and installing them to the new one. Not a big job for the money they are charging. Even with the tank complete with pump and sending unit, that is high. That sounds like a " I don't want to do this job so I will quote a high price - if he agrees, I make a killing". He is only paying the same price for the tank as you are at the JY at most, so 270 to swap tanks is great money if you can get it.

I've decided to first try patching it with Permatex, then then with Marine-Tex Gray if Permatex doesn't work, and then try tracking down a used tank in good condition and replacing it myself if patching doesn't work.

I picked it up from the shop yesterday and put the rear up on ramps in my driveway. It's no longer dripping, and the leak is apparently small and not obvious, so I can't see where exactly it is just yet. There are some leftover fuel spots, but there are no visible cracks or holes in the vicinity. In order to find exactly where the leak is, I'm planning on spraying the tank down with a hose and wiping down where the fuel spots were (to clear that area up), and then sitting the truck on level ground for a day with cardboard underneath to see if that gives me a better idea. If not, I might have to fill it halfway or all the way in order to see if that makes it start dripping visibly.

When I picked it up from the shop, he gave me a quote which listed about $136 for labor, $160 or so for the tank (there are some at junkyards within a few hours from me for much cheaper, but I'm not sure of the condition), and $50 or so for supplies, taxes, etc. Go figure.

elchatoloco - I very well might take you up on that tank if the patching doesn't work out. How would we know for sure that it's the right fit? Mine's a 95 fuel-injected standard cab shortbed, which is the only variant that they made in 95, if I'm not mistaken. I've seen it said that the tanks differ based on cab, bed, fi/carb, wheelbase, etc.

Good to know about macro-cab vs. regular cab being different.

I would have never guessed it till it was too late.

Hope you get yours figured out ToxicBard.

Yes I ran through the same problem but opposite , the baffle had come loose and when I got its replacement it was to short lengthwise.

measure the distance between mounting bolts, I'll measure those one and get back at you.

As for thank sizes I read in some brochures about it I'll look for the pics and upload

Here is the pic with specs

Any advice for finding a very, very small leak?

It didn't start leaking again until I filled the tank completely, and it's an extremely slow drip. The problem is I can't see where it is: There's an area about 5-10 inches in diameter that's wet with fuel, but there's no visible hole or crack.

You will do well to make sure the leak isn't at the top of the tank, and actually a hose, not the tank itself. It's not easy to get up in there to see, but it's one avenue you should look into. A cracked hose will cause other problems as it deteriorates.

You could always pull the bed off the truck to look at the top of the tank if you don't want to drop the tank - depends on what is less work for you.

If I replace the tank, I'd like to replace the fuel lines / hoses running to it as well, while I've already got the bed off. Hoses crack and will need to be replaced eventually anyway, so if I'm already right there, I might as well put new ones on pre-emptively if I can find new ones.

Does anybody know the name of the lines that I'd want to replace while I'm replacing the tank?

Get a sample and calculate how much you'll need. Parts stores has bulk fuel lines you can use. The leak I had was where the tank rock shield was. A rust hole formed on the outside and ate its way in. Got my replacement from a member on here who was actually willing to ship, and I happily paid for shipping.

My tank was patched by the previous owner with no problems he drove it for 10yrd like this an I've had it for about a year now. He used marine epoxy all your local auto part stores should have it. An it's fairly cheap.

Mine was also leaking. Tried fixing it this weekend. At first I thought it was leaking out of the front seam. But when I got the tank down, I left everything plugged in. And started the truck. It started spraying everywhere. Must've jarred the line. That's when we noticed it was leaking out of one of the lines coming out of the sending unit. At that point I had no choice but to use a patch kit that I already had. It hardened right up to a solid. So I think it'll work good. Only problem is, there were 2 small holes. And we missed one. So it's still leaking. I'm gonna try doing the other hole after work. We also had a hell of time getting the bolts out of the tank. So good luck.

I had a pin point leak. Got some stuff at the auto store specific for gas tank patching. Mixed it like JB Weld put it on no probs for years now. It stopped the leak right away. I was lucky the leak was obvious.